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Guide to French Guiana

Introduction

Background: First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou.

Geography

Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 53 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 378 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent

People

Population: 195,506 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.1% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Religions: Roman Catholic
Languages: French
Literacy: definition

Government

Country name: conventional long form
Dependency status: overseas department of France
Government type: NA
Capital: Cayenne
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
Political parties and leaders: Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: UPU, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas department of France)
Flag description: the flag of France is used

Economy

Economy - overview: The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.551 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 58,800 (1997)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980)
Unemployment rate: 22% (2001)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (2002 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry
Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 460.1 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 427.9 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Exports: $155 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing
Exports - partners: France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001)
Imports: $625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals
Imports - partners: France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.)
Debt - external: $1.2 billion (1988)
Economic aid - recipient: NA
Currency (code): euro (EUR)
Currency code: EUR
Exchange rates: Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 51,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 138,200 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998)
Radios: 104,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 30,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .gf
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 3,200 (2002)

Transportation

Highways: total
Waterways: 3,760 km note
Ports and harbors: Degrad des Cannes
Merchant marine: registered in other countries
Airports: 11 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total

Military

Military branches: no regular military forces; Gendarmerie
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana
Illicit drugs: small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
Last updated: 20 October, 2005


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